


Spaceship Adventures

by Justmenoworries



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: Body Horror, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Fluff, Humor, M/M, One Shot Collection, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justmenoworries/pseuds/Justmenoworries
Summary: A family can be an Objecthead DJ, a Cyborg war-veteran and five android-teenagers.A collection of one-shots about these dorks trying to pull together as a family. Tags will be added as the one-shots are posted.
Relationships: DJ Subatomic Supernova & Neon J., DJ Subatomic Supernova/Neon J.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 317





	1. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supernova has a small problem: He doesn't actually know his stepsons' names.

It was ridiculous.

DJ Subatomic Supernova had been having no trouble with leafing through the dozens of paper work that it took to organize raves before. But that had been at his own desk, in his own room, with his own unique system.

It had become significantly harder to manage his day-to-day business once he’d moved to Baracka Mansion. Not because the place was messy, far from it. If there was one thing Neon J prided himself on, it was strict order.

Baracka Mansion was so spick-and-span it’s inhabitants could have eaten off the floor, if they’d been capable of eating the conventional way. It was quite the achievement, considering it was home to five robot-teenagers to whom the concept of not partying seemed to be physically painful. A testament to J’s abilities as a manager and father.

When Supernova had moved in, J had been insistent he get his own workroom, so he wouldn’t have to walk back to the planetarium every time a concert was due. Which would be fairly often in the near future. Though the energy crisis had been overcome with the added support of more artists in NSR, they still had the occasional blackouts.

Districts like Metro Division and Cast Tech especially felt the insufficiently filled qwasas.

So NSR’s artists rolled up their sleeves (those who had them) and produced piece after piece, much to the joy of their fans.

Supernova would have been doing just that too, if he could just find that damned recording of last week’s rave. He was 90 % sure there had been an influx of listeners, but he would have to check, before he planned.

As much as he loved J’s cleanliness, his boyfriend’s habit to immediately snatch up and put away anything lying around was proving to be mildly irritating, to say the least. Made worse by the fact that Supernova and him seemed to have completely separate filing systems. So whenever J cleaned up after him, it was a matter of pure chance of Supernova would find whatever J had taken without asking where he’d put it. And why.

After the fifth drawer in his cabinet didn’t produce the desired record, Supernova gave up. With a huff, he slammed the drawer closed and left his workroom to find J.

Which turned out to be just as frustrating. Baracka Mansion was ridiculously huge. If it weren’t for the portraits, photos and awards hanging on the walls of it’s near identical hallways, Supernova would have been lost. More than he already was.

To Supernova’s never ending relief, White was sitting on a couch in the next hallway, typing away at his phone. The android looked up when he heard Supernova approaching. He gave the DJ a slightly strained smile. 1010 was still cautious around him. As J had admitted to him one evening after a particularly awkward dinner, they might have been happy their dad had found happiness with someone, but the actual concept of said someone becoming a permanent addition to their lives was… difficult to process.

Supernova was neither a parenting expert nor a psychologist. His preferred method of dealing with that problem had been to courteous whenever he saw them, but otherwise evade contact. Collision at a fast pace was never a good thing.

Supernova cleared his throat, hoping he didn’t look as awkward as he felt. “I’m looking for Neon J. Did you happen to see him?”

“Dad-J’s giving an interview,” White responded. “He’s probably gonna be back in an hour or so.”

Supernova nodded. “Ah. Well, then I suppose I should go back to work until then.” He’d have to find that record on his own. After a bit of hesitation, Supernova added: “Thank you, White.”

The android flinched and looked up at him. His expression was a bit odd. “Um… sure, don’t mention it.”

Supernova felt that he had made a misstep. Though he wasn’t exactly sure why. “Is there a problem?” he asked cautiously.

White seemed unsure of what to say for a moment. Then he relented. “Just not sure how to feel about you using my nickname, that’s all.”

Supernova stared. “Nick… name?”

That earned him another frown from White. The android tilted his head. “Yeah. White is J’s nickname for me. You know, ‘cause my hair’s white. He does that with all of us, actually.”

“Ah. I see.” He did not. Until now he’d been of the belief 1010 really were named after their primary colors. It wasn’t the most creative of naming choices, but who was he to judge what a man named his children? This was a problem.

White squinted. “Did you… actually think that was my name?”

Supernova tried to think of an answer that would not make him come across as stupid as he currently felt. But his traitor intellect seemed to elude him when he needed it most. And so all he did was scratching the back of is neck and trying very hard to evade eye contact. Which was hard to do when one did not have eyes.

Eventually, he straightened himself. “I really must be going now.”

He turned on his heel and hastily walked down the all back to his workroom. And even though Supernova couldn’t see him, he could feel White smirk behind his back until he rounded the corner.

* * *

He eventually found the recording, but continuing his work was suddenly much more difficult. He couldn’t help but replay the conversation he’d had with White in his head, over and over. Especially White’s smug tone when he’d asked if Supernova really thought his nickname was his real name refused to leave his mind.

Technically speaking, he could’ve just asked what White and the others were actually called right after that. But that would mean admitting he did not know them already. That was out of the question. DJ Subatomic Supernova didn’t not know things. And fine, _maybe_ there was a tiny part of him that feared the boys’ already shaky opinion of him would plummet if they knew.

No, this was a matter of pride now.

He’d find out their names and he’d do it all on his own! How hard could it be? He was a genius after all.

* * *

Supernova could steadily feel his soul leave his body. He quietly vowed to himself to never ever visit a 1010 – fansite again once this was over. Most of the chats were hapless puppy love at worst, but there were some fans who were very… enthusiastic about what they wanted to do with their favorite robot-idols.

Reading some of these entries made Supernova want to clean his helmet out from the inside. Did kids these days have any shame at all?

To add insult to injury, the boys’ names were always shortened. Some used their own nicknames for the members. In short, there was no way to tell whether a name was actually real or merely fan-made.

At the umpteenth entry detailing how the writer would really like to do unspeakable things to the ring in Green’s hair, Supernova decided to spare what little sanity he had left and logged out. He leaned back in his chair and groaned, dragging his hands down his helmet. The official NSR website merely listed the boys as 1010. No help there.

And asking Neon J was decidedly not an option. Though it had been a while since he’d been in a relationship, Supernova was certain that telling your boyfriend you didn’t know the names of his children after roughly two months of living together was a sure-fire recipe for disaster. He didn’t want J to think he had no interest in the boys. Or that he only wanted to get to know them to get closer to J.

So when J came home that evening, cheerful and energetic, Supernova pretended everything was fine. Although dinner was notably difficult. Somehow, the rest of 1010 seemed to know or at least suspect there was something up. They kept throwing knowing looks and smirks his way. Supernova wouldn’t have thought White was one to tattle. But to be fair, Supernova didn’t have four brothers. And he knew from experience how inquisitive the boys could be when properly motivated.

The next day, Supernova took a trip through Metro Division. He’d heard there were 1010 autographs hung up on one of the walls. A common stop for tourists, the place wasn’t hard to find. After most of the fans had run off to one of the countless merchandise shops in the district, Supernova had approached, feeling positively smug. Who needed fan-sites? This was as easy a solution as it was obvious.

His smugness evaporated as soon as he saw the actual autographs. The boys’ handwriting was horrendous. And the engraving below the signatures was so worn out from the weather it might as well have been a smudge on the plaque. He could vaguely make out a few is or es, but not enough by far to even guess what they were supposed to spell out.

Feeling thoroughly miserable and somewhat cheated, Supernova shuffled back to Baracca mansion. He locked himself in his workroom for the rest of the day. At least his music was as clear-cut to him as it ever was.

* * *

“Are you mad at me?”

Supernova looked up from his astronomy book to look at Neon J. The cyborg was lying beside him on their bed, radar giving off rapid peeps. Supernova knew it was a sign that J was nervous. And the question caught him off-guard. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He’d been so busy with his name-problem, he’d been paying a lot less attention to J than usual. Normally he could tell when his boyfriend was as upset as he currently sounded.

“What gave you that impression?” Supernova asked.

“You’ve been really quiet these past few days. And you always seem hellbent on leaving the table as soon as you’re done eating.” J sat and cleared his throat, looking away awkwardly. “I know I’ve been busy lately. And as much as I would like for us to have more time together it’s currently just not possible,” He hung his head. “Metro Division had three blackouts this week. I have to organize more concerts than usual. I’m sorry if I neglected you because of that.”

The small pang turned into a gut punch. Supernova felt like a buffoon. Of course J would take notice of his change in demeanor. And of course he’d automatically assume he was the cause of it. He should have thought of that.

Supernova cradled J’s head in his hands and made the manager look at him. “I am not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. There’s just been a few… private issues I’ve been struggling to resolve. I assure you, you had nothing to do with it.”

J’s peeping slowed down, though it still wasn’t at it’s normal speed. “What kind of issues? Maybe I can help.”

Supernova flinched. “Oh, it’s nothing, really. You’re incredibly busy as is, I wouldn’t want to add to that.”

“Well I am not working now,” J shrugged. “And you know what they say: Four eyes are better than two.”

“Neither of us have eyes, my dear.”

“Don’t you try to distract me with pet names, soldier! You know what I mean.”

“It… it’s more embarrassing than troubling, honestly.”

J stayed expectantly quiet.

Supernova sighed. “It may be possible that I assumed the nicknames you had for the boys were their actual names. And now I can’t seem to find out their actual names no matter how hard I try.”

J just stared at him for a moment. Then he broke out into a fit of wheezing laughter, rolling over onto his back and holding his belly.

Supernova felt his helmet heat up. “Well I’m glad my emotional turmoil is so amusing to you,” he said indignantly, crossing his arms and leaning back against the headboard.

“S-sorry,” J chuckled. After a few more giggles, he straightened and looked at Supernova. “Is that all? You know you could have just asked me, Subatomic.”

“You… aren’t angry?” Supernova asked cautiously.

“Of course not! Why would I be?”

Supernova coughed and adjusted his helmet. “Well we have been living together for a while. I could have asked weeks ago.”

J leaned forward until his screen was next to Supernova’s helmet. A spark traveled between them. It was the closest thing to a peck J could give. “You were busy, solider. We all were, after that rock-revolution debacle. It would be pretty hypocritical of me to fault you for that.”

The DJ scratched the back of his neck. This was not at all how he had imagined that conversation to go. But in a good way. “So… would you be so kind as to tell me their names? I think one more hurried dinner is going to severely upset my stomach.”

* * *

“Would you pass me the butter, Eloni?”

The green-haired android gave a start and stared at Supernova as if surprised. Supernova fought to keep the satisfaction out of his voice when he asked: “Is something wrong?”

Eloni exchanged a look with the other 1010-members who looked about as confused as him. White, who Supernova now knew was called Rin, gave a shrug.

“Um, sure Mr. Supernova. Here you go,” Eloni said eventually, handing the DJ the plate.

Supernova gave him a polite nod. “Thank you.”

J elbowed him lightly, his way of warning Supernova not to be too mean. Supernova merely leaned back in his chair, pretending he didn’t notice. After all the trouble he’d went through, he should be allowed a little fun, should he not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea is partially based on my own experiences while writing 1010. I didn't know they had canon names, so I just had everyone call them by their signature color. Boy did I feel stupid afterward.
> 
> In case you missed it too, here are their official names, as decoded from their autographs in Metro Division district:
> 
> White - Rin  
> Red - Zimelu  
> Yellow - Haym  
> Green - Eloni  
> Blue - Purl-hew


	2. Fighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sparring match goes a bit wrong.

There was a small war going on in Baracca mansion.

And nobody was winning.

That 1010 still weren’t sure how to feel about their soon-to-be stepdad was a quietly accepted fact among the household. So was the fact that pranking Supernova was their way of testing the waters and getting to know him. Finding out what he would and wouldn’t tolerate.

Through that unique method they had discovered that while messing with his album covers and posters would merely elicit tired sighs and disappointed lectures, touching his astronomy books or, god forbid, his star cards, would lead to nothing less than pure, unadulterated rage.

Pranks that involved imitating Neon J’s voice were also _not_ well received. At all.

This small set of trial and error continued for a few weeks. Eventually, the boys grew tired of needling the DJ and returned to their usual pastime: partying and practicing for the next show.

Except for Zimelu.

The red-haired android seemed to find a special, almost sadistic pleasure in continued pranks on Supernova. And he was utterly unapologetic when caught.

One particular instance had him and Supernova burst into Neon J’s office, after Zimelu defaced one of Supernova’s spare helmets. After much screaming and fruitless attempts to get the two to make peace, J had exasperatedly told Supernova he would have to know which punishment was most suitable and dismissed both of them from his office.

That was where the trouble really began.

Zimelu wouldn’t stop with the pranks, defacing cards, ripping apart Supernova’s space ship models and drawing crude pictures on his posters. Supernova would retaliate with months-long groundings, confiscating Zimelu’s video games or even banning him from concerts. J put a stop to the last one, if only because most fans were disappointed to only get four of the boys.

Still, it seemed neither side was willing to admit defeat.

After yet another dinner evolved into a shouting match, the other four 1010 members decided to take action.

“Dude, do you have a problem with Mr. Supernova or something?” Rin asked later that evening. Him and Zimelu were sitting in front of a huge flat-screen, playing one of Zimelu’s favorite fighting games.

“Whaddaya mean? I thought we all hated that bubble-headed jerk,” Zimelu answered.

Rin frowned.

“Um, ‘hate’ is kind of a strong word, bro.”

Zimelu shrugged. “Not for me.”

Rin noticed his brother’s grip tighten slightly around the controller out of the corner of his eyes. “I mean, yeah, none of us were really happy when we found out he was dating dad. But he’s making dad-J happy, so… maybe lay off a bit?”

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” Zimelu responded.

He pressed a couple of buttons, a lot harsher than he needed to. His character put Rin’s in a headlock, then drop-kicked him off the stage and into a spike bit. Rin grimaced in disgust at the graphic death animation. He didn’t like this particular game, but he’d needed Zimelu in a good mood for this little talk.

“Come on dude, yeah you do,” he said, as Zimelu picked the next stage. “That thing you did with his space shuttle-model really wasn’t cool. I think that one was his favorite.”

Zimelu smirked. “I know, right? He almost cried this time.”

Rin gave his brother a light shove. “Seriously, Zim, I mean it. It was funny at first, but you’re way overdoing it. Mr. Supernova is boring, sure, but he’s not a bad guy.”

Zimelu turned to glare at him. “So what? You want me to call him ‘dad’ now? Just pretend he’s always been here?”

Rin flinched a bit. “I-I didn’t say that-”

Zimelu huffed. “Forget it.” He punched in another button combination. His character decapitated Rin’s with a victorious roar, ending the match in Zimelu’s favor. Zimelu threw his controller down and stood up, stomping towards the door to his room. “I’m done.”

Rin sighed. As if on cue, the doors to Eloni’s. Purl-hew’s and Haym’s doors clicked open. All three of them peeked outside.

“So? What’d he say?” Haym asked.

Rin gave them a cliff-notes version of his talk with Zimelu.

“Damn,” Purl-hew said, sitting down next to Rin. “Someone’s holding a grudge alright.”

Rin rolled his eyes and let himself fall onto the floor. “Tell me about it.”

“That’s not like him,” Haym remarked with a worried frown, fiddling with a controller. “I mean, Zim gets angry really easy, but he’s usually back to being fun if he lets off some steam.”

Rin’s eyes widened and he snapped back up. “Repeat that!”

Haym gave him a confused look. “Zim needs to let off steam?”

Rin grinned and slammed his fist into his open palm. “That’s it! I know how we can fix this whole thing!”

“I’m already scared,” Purl-Hew said, one eyebrow raised.

“Me too,” Eloni nodded. “He’s got his schemer-face. Nothing good comes off the schemer-face.”

Rin glared at them. “You wanna hear me out before you judge me?”

Eloni shrugged. “We can’t do both?”

After Rin told them what he’d thought off, the skepticism on their faces turned into disbelief.

“That’s a horrible idea,” Purl-hew said bluntly.

Haym and Eloni nodded.

Rin huffed. “Yeah, well, I’m the leader and I say we’re doing it.”

“Can we at least take a vote on that?” Haym asked.

* * *

“Hey Zim, wanna hold a sparring session?”

Zimelu looked up from his handheld, frowning. “We haven’t done that since we got the training room.”

Rin shrugged, smirking. “Just figured you might need a pick-me-up. You’ve been pretty down lately.”

Zimelu searched his brother’s face for any sign of dishonesty. Rin’s smirk didn’t waver and Zimelu couldn’t feel any insecurity over their link. Zimelu sighed, turning back to his game. “Alright, lemme just save real quick.”

As soon as he put down the console, Rin grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out to the big field behind their mansion. Their weapons and combat training had been held here when they had just moved in. It had become a regular free-time activity after the first few concerts.

Eventually Neon J had decided the constant explosions and crashes were probably getting too much for their neighbors to handle every week and installed an internal holo-deck training room. Although he hadn’t questioned their dad’s idea at the time, Zimelu’s disappointment had been felt by all the rest of 1010. He had loved the outdoor sparring sessions. Especially since he’d won them almost regularly.

Rin could see a small smile form on the corner of Zimelu’s face as he pushed open the doors to the field. He hoped that good mood would hold for a while.

Instead, Zimelu’s smile dropped the second he saw who was on the field aside from his brothers. DJ Subatomic Supernova looked about as out of place as he seemed to feel.

He had his arms crossed, one foot tapping the ground to the beat of a melody only he could hear through his headphones.

“What the hell’s _he_ doing here?” Zimelu demanded, glaring at Rin.

“Believe me, I’ve been asking myself that for quite a while now,” Supernova said. The lights in his helmet moved a little to the left, his version of an eye-roll.

“I told you,” Rin answered, still smirking. “Sparring.”

Zimelu and Supernova both stared at him.

“What?” Zimelu asked.

“Come again?” Supernova said at the same time.

“I’ll be honest, guys” Rin continued, walking over to the side of the field where the rest of 1010 was stationed. “We’re all kinda sick of you two arguing all the time. So, we decided if you two wanna fight so bad, why not let you?”

“For the record, it was his idea and we all thought it was terrible,” Purl-Hew chimed in.

“So please don’t kill us,” Haym added. Eloni nodded eagerly.

Zimelu glared at Rin. “Is this a joke? I’m not beating up an old man!”

Supernova jerked and whipped around, pointing an accusing, large finger at Zimelu. “Who are you calling old you insufferable, little-!”

“And that’s my point,” Rin interrupted. “There’s obviously a lot of pent-up aggression between you two. What better way to get it out than this? And then maybe we’ll be able to have a dinner that won’t devolve into a shouting match for once.”

“If only because they’ll be beat from trying to strangle each other,” Eloni muttered.

Supernova gave a long sigh. “Rin, I appreciate what you are trying to do. But I do not believe our issues can be resolved by me fighting your brother. Besides, your father would kill me if I damaged any of you.”

“Like you could even touch me,” Zimelu grumbled under his ‘breath’.

Supernova turned his helmet to him. “Oh, but I could. From what I’ve heard you are quite vulnerable without your brother’s shields.”

Zimelu flushed. “Like hell I am! I could easily kick your ass without Rin helping!”

“You couldn’t even beat Bunkbed Junction _with_ him helping,”

“You’re one to talk! Weren’t you punted into orbit by them?”

Supernova coughed, nervously adjusting his collar. “Let us not talk about that.”

“Why not?” Zimelu sneered. “Don’t wanna remember how you got served because you’re a frail, old man?”

The two of them glowered at each other for a while.

“On second thought,” Supernova said tightly, “I am starting to see some benefit in your idea, Rin.”

“Same here,” Zimelu nodded, glaring.

Rin had spent the entire conversation nervously looking back and forth between Supernova and his brother. “You guys _do_ know you’re not allowed to kill each other, right?”

* * *

“This was a horrible idea,” Purl-hew stated.

“Gee, ya think?” Rin hissed, dodging stray rubble.

Him, Eloni, Haym and Purl-hew were huddling behind an overturned garden table. The field behind them was pandemonium.

Zimelu and Supernova evidently had more than just a bit pent-up aggression to take out. They were currently going at each other with metaphorical tooth and nail. Between Zimelu’s saw-swipes and laser-blasts and Supernova’s elongated super-strong punches, there wasn’t much left of the garden anymore.

“You think we should stop this?” Haym piped up.

Eloni shook his head. “No way, I don’t wanna get destroyed! I just adjusted to this new body.”

Rin cautiously peeked over the edge of the table, only to immediately drop back down to dodge a rock that had been sent flying his way.

“Alright,” he said, slowly. “Here’s the plan.”

“Oh good, he’s got another plan,” Purl-hew chuckled. “Will it be as well thought out as the last one?”

“ _As I was saying_ ,” Rin continued, throwing Purl-hew a dirty look. “You three go back into the mansion and get Neon J. I’m going to try and stop these two.”

The other three stared at him.

“Dude, do you have a death wish?” Haym asked. “’Cause it sounds like you have a death wish.”

Rin rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine. Shields, remember? I’ll be in way less danger than any of you.”

Purl-hew, Haym and Eloni exchanged skeptical, worried looks.

Eventually they relented, scurrying off towards the garden doors.

Rin activated his shields, taking a quick peek at his energy output as he did. They hadn’t had a concert in a few days, but the small qwaza powering his shield projectors was still full enough to last at least for a couple of minutes. He’d just have to hope that was enough.

He got up and carefully made his way towards Zimelu and Supernova, flinching when a laser blast barely missed the upper edge of his shield.

“Hey,” he called out. “You guys, I think that’s enough!”

If either of them heard him, they were ignoring him.

“Getting tired, grandpa?” Zimelu chuckled, dodging Supernova’s gigantic fist.

Supernova huffed in response. “Not in the slightest. Your father does a better job of tiring me out.”

Rin flinched.

_Oh, he did_ not _just-!_

His eyes wandered to Zimelu, who had stopped dead in his tracks. When he spoke again, his voice was so quiet, Rin had to strain his audial sensors to hear him.

“Oh, just rub it in, yeah? That he’s fucking glued to your hip now. You gotta be so proud of that.”

“Um, hate to butt in here-” Rin tried again.

Zimelu ignored him. “Do you have any fucking idea how little we get to see him these days? He was already always busy. And then _you_ came along and now he’s spending even less time with us!”

All of a sudden he rushed forward, saw-blade raised.

Rin’s eyes widened. He jumped in front of Supernova, arms outstretched. “Hey Zim, wait-!”

Zimelu’s saw hit his shield. The surface crackled, then broke. Rin felt a searing hot pain around his mid-section. Then the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, feeling strangely light.

“...Ow.”

“Rin!” Zimelu’s terrified face appeared in his vision, along with Supernova’s helmet. The hue had changed from purple-ish to dark blue. Rin wasn’t sure, but he thought he remembered it meant distress.

Rin frowned. “Calm down, I’m okay. Just need to get up.”

He propped himself up on his elbows and tried to get onto his feet. Only to see empty space where his hips and legs should have been.

“...Oh.”

“What in the name of NSR is going on out here?” a familiar voice shouted.

All three of them jumped and looked towards the mansion. Neon J was marching across the destroyed field, closely followed by Haym, Eloni and Purl-Hew.

“Dad, I-… I didn’t mean to,” Zimelu stammered, sounding horrified. “He got in the way, I-”

“Not. A. Word.” J cut him off. His radar was going a mile a minute. If Zimelu had the ability to gulp, he would have. Not good. J turned his monitor towards Supernova who looked like he’d wanted to say something. “From either of you.”

J bent down and carefully took Rin’s torso into his arms. He looked up at Supernova and inclined his head towards the field. “Get his legs. If I attach them fast enough, he won’t have to be re-uploaded into a new body.”

Supernova nodded quietly and walked off towards the rest of Rin’s body. Rin watched, as the big man picked up his legs and hips from the ground. Rin didn’t have a stomach, so he couldn’t feel queasy at the sight of it. But he did feel the mini-qwaza acting as his energy supplier glitch for a second. It had roughly the same effect.

The feeling increased a little when J began to walk towards the mansion, but not because of the light jostling. Rin looked up at his dad’s face, wincing lightly when he saw the radar rotating at near light speed. He hated making J feel worried and anxious.

Zimelu, Haym, Purl-hew and Eloni stayed behind in the destroyed garden, feeling more than a little guilty.

Zimelu retracted his blades, crossed his arms and lowered his head. “I messed up, didn’t I?”

Purl-hew nodded. “In more ways than one.”

“Yeah dude, what the heck?” Haym said, frowning. “Rin’s shield’s are bullet-proof! How much force did you put behind that punch?”

“Supernova’s lucky Rin jumped in when he did. Imagine what would’ve happened if you’d hit someone whose body can’t just be welded back together.” Eloni gave Zimelu a pointed look. “Or were you actually trying to hurt him?”

“No! ...Yes? Maybe, I don’t know.” Zimelu huffed and uncrossed his arms. “I was just… really angry and I wasn’t thinking.”

Purl-hew chuckled. “That’s an understatement. You’ll have to think real hard about how you’re going to explain this one to J.”

* * *

J’s fingers tapped a steady rhythm on the table’s surface, underlined by the ever-present ‘bip-bip-bip’ of his radar. It had slowed down a bit after he’d finished repairing Rin, but it was still going faster than usual. The two individuals hunched over on the chairs in front of him weren’t out of danger yet. And they knew it.

Supernova and Zimelu hadn’t spoken a word since they had taken their seats at J’s order. Zimelu was gripping the edges of his chair so hard the wood creaked. Supernova’s helmet had taken on such a dark blue hue it was almost black. Both of them had avoided eye contact with each other as well as J.

The tension in the room was palpable.

J’s tapping stopped. “I am at a loss for words.” The radar sped up again.

“Dad-”

“Neon, I-”

“Have you both completely lost your minds?” J jumped up from his chair and brought his palms down on the table, hard. “You hold an unauthorized all-out sparring match right out in the open, without any security measures or padding, you caused major collateral damage and worst of all, your little stunt almost _destroyed_ another member of this family!” J’s screen lit up. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”

Supernova and Zimelu let their shoulders droop. Zimelu opened his mouth to say something, but Supernova spoke first.

“I am deeply sorry, Neon. I let my temper get the better of me. As the adult in this situation, I should have deescalated once I realized how out of hand it was getting.” He twiddled his thumbs nervously before continuing. “I accept full responsibility for what happened.”

“No!” Zimelu jumped up from his chair, putting a hand on his chest. “Dad, I’m the one who provoked him! He didn’t even want to fight, he just did it because I kept being a jerk! And Rin got hurt because of me! It’s not his fault, it’s mine.”

Nova turned to look at him, the blue in his helmet lightening up a bit. He was surprised.

J stared at Zimelu for a long time, then sighed. His shoulders drooped. “I can’t… I can’t deal with this right now. Your next concert is in two weeks and I still haven’t planned out all the details.” He pointed at Zimelu. “You’re grounded. And now, I’d suggest you go apologize to your brother. Me and Supernova still have a lot to talk about.”

Zimelu flinched, but nodded. He walked out the door as fast as he could, feeling like he had gotten off too easy and at the same time unwilling to do anything about it. His feet carried him to Rin’s room automatically. He could hear Purl-hew, Haym and Eloni laughing. It only made him feel worse.

Just as he was about to leave, the door opened from the inside and Purl-hew, Haym and Eloni walked out. They stopped when they saw him.

“You okay?” Haym asked, frowning. “You look like your face-plate’s malfunctioning.”

Zimelu opened his mouth to answer, but Purl-hew cut him off.

“He’s fine, Haym. He probably just wants to apologize to Rin.” He gave Zimelu a pointed look. “Right?”

Zimeul nodded.

Purl-hew slung his arms around the other two, maneuvering them down the hall. “Let’s give them some privacy.”

Zimelu watched them go. A part of him wanted to call them back, but he knew they wouldn’t. This was his mistake, so he had to fix it. Alone.

Gathering what little courage he had left, he entered Rin’s room.

“Heya Zim!”

Rin was grinning at him from his berth. Zimelu couldn’t help but stare at his hip. J had done a good job, as usual. There was a small mark where a welding torch had been used to put Rin back together, but it was practically invisible if you didn’t know where to look.

“My eyes are up here.” Rin gave him an amused look.

Zimelu flinched. “Right. Sorry.”

An awkward silence followed.

Zimelu scratched at the back of his neck, trying to find the right words. “Err… Sorry. About… cutting you in half and stuff.”

Rin shrugged.

“Eh, wasn’t that bad really. Sorry about making you and Mr. Supernova fight.”

Zimelu grinned.

“Eh, wasn’t that bad.”

Silence again.

“Did you mean that?” Rin said suddenly. “What you told Mr. Supernova about dad not being there for us because of him?”

Zimelu said nothing.

“Because if that’s how you feel, you should talk to dad-J about it.” Rin’s expression had turned serious. “You’ve been making an ass of yourself these last few weeks. And honestly, we’re all pretty tired of it.”

Zimelu nodded.

“And you need to apologize to Mr. Supernova too,” Rin added. “It’s not his fault you got jealous.”

“I know,” Zimelu said quietly.

Rin looked at him for a while. Then he reached under his berth and pulled out two handheld consoles.

“Anyway, it’s been a long day. Up for a round of Mortal Rage?”

Zimelu smirked, walking over and taking one of the consoles.

“Looking forward to getting your ass beat again?”

“Hey! You only got lucky last time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting off the new year with some family-drama!
> 
> Woo!


	3. Storms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A stormy night in Baracca Mansion.

“Alright, I will tell the boys. Stay safe.”

Supernova ended the call and stood up from his desk to go look for 1010.

A flash of lightning illuminated the halls as he walked though the mansion, followed by a deafening crash. Supernova flinched. This storm had been a long time coming. The weather forecasts had advised water-proofing the cellars and only stepping outside if absolutely necessary.

Supernova intended to do both.

He normally liked the rain. It was a source of inspiration sometimes and a natural comfort. But he had never been particular to thunderstorms. More than a few of his raves had been cut short by a stray lightning bolt knocking out the planetarium’s power.

That and they were just plain noisy!

The sound-proof walls in his room helped, but not much. He still flinched every time he heard the tell-tale rumble of thunder, which in turn led to him losing whatever flow he had managed to get himself in.

So when Neon J called him, he almost welcomed the distraction from an utterly frustrating situation. J had set out yesterday to arrange 1010’s newest contract with a clothing line whose name Supernova couldn’t be bothered to remember.

J had been apprehensive to take 1010 outside with the forecast, so they’d stayed behind at the mansion with Supernova. The deal had gone off without a hitch, but it had dragged on. And now J was forced to stay in a hotel for the time being. He hadn’t sounded the slightest bit happy when he’d told Supernova about it, and Supernova felt for him.

J might have acted the tough drill sergeant in front of his boys more often than not, but it didn’t take a genius to see he cared about them more than anything else. Their brief destruction at the hands of Bunk Bed Junction had only increased his protectiveness. It had taken a lot of convincing both by Supernova and 1010 to get J to leave the house at all.

Supernova was pulled out of his thoughts by the familiar sound of Haym’s laugh coming from the living room. He followed the sound, finding the boys hunched together on the couch and watching one of their commercials.

“Duuude, you look so cringy!” Haym chuckled, lightly jostling Zimelu beside him.

Zimelu smirked and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, like you’re any better! Who wrote the lines for this one?”

“Whoever it was, they probably haven’t gone outside for a while,” Purl-hew remarked.

Supernova cleared his throat. The boys turned around to him.

“Oh, hi Mr. Supernova,” Haym beamed.

“You wanna join in?” Eloni asked. Before Supernova could answer, Eloni turned back to look at something Supernova couldn’t see. “You guys up for a crossover?”

It took Supernova a few seconds to understand. “You are streaming?”

Zimelu shrugged. “Nothing else to do right now. And we kinda promised we’d do a reaction-vid on our ads weeks ago.”

“Ah.”

Supernova shuffled his feet. He liked to imagine he was relatively up to speed with trends, but the appeals of things like so-called reaction-videos was still lost on him.

“No, I am currently otherwise occupied,” he lied. “I merely wanted to inform you that J will be staying in his hotel overnight. The streets have been deemed unsafe for travel. He will most likely be back for lunch tomorrow.”

“Alright, cool,” Eloni shrugged. “Thanks for telling us.”

With that, the boys redirected their attention to the screen.

Supernova was about to leave, when he noticed something. Or rather, the absence of something.

“Is Rin not participating in this… reaction?” he asked.

“Nah,” Haym said absentmindedly. “Storms bum him out. He’s in his room.”

“Oh. Alright then.”

Supernova could tell when he’d lost someone’s attention for the time being. He gave an awkward wave to the camera, then walked back into the halls.

He’d gotten pretty good at finding his way through the labyrinth that was Baracca mansion. The twists, turns and seemingly identical hallways only occasionally confused him now.

Like at this very moment.

Supernova couldn’t for the life of him figure out how he’d wound up in front of 1010’s quarters. By all accounts, he should have been in his office. But here he was, standing in front of the doors to their individual rooms and twiddling his thumbs.

Perhaps it was the weather. It seemed to be responsible for a lot of mishaps today.

As if on cue, another clash of thunder sounded through the mansion. It was followed by a shrill, glitched noise. Supernova took a few moments to realize it was a scream.

The source seemed to be located in the center room.

Supernova hesitated for a second, then stepped towards the door, raised a hand and knocked.

“Rin? Are you in there?”

“Go away!”

Supernova tilted his head, surprised. Rin and he weren’t exactly on friendly terms currently, but he had yet to remember a situation in which Rin had _yelled_ at him. He had the sneaking suspicion that Rin wasn’t just “bummed out”, as Haym had put it.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

“I’m _fine_!” came the not particularly convincing answer from the other side of the door.

Lightning flashed outside, followed by another crash. Supernova heard Rin whimper. For a moment he wasn’t quite sure what to do. He was a doctor, but not that kind of doctor. And it occurred to him more and more that this kind of situation was something J would be more equipped to handle.

But J wasn’t here.

And something told Supernova that Rin wouldn’t appreciate it if his brothers got involved. So he sighed, mentally steeled himself and gripped the door handle.

“I’m coming in now.”

Rin was lying on his bed, curled in on himself. His body was shaking slightly. Supernova heard some small glitched sobs when he stepped closer. He felt more and more out of his depth.

“Um,” he started, scratching the back of his neck. “I take it you aren’t a big fan of storms?”

Rin just shook his head and buried his face deeper in his arms.

“Ah well, neither am I.”

Supernova walked over to Rin’s bed and, after a moment of hesitation, placed himself on the side. For a while he just sat there, not knowing what to say. Eventually, he turned and awkwardly placed a hand on Rin’s shoulder. Supernova had no idea whether physical touch was as comforting for robots as it was for humans, but J always liked it just fine and he was at least part-robot.

Rin flinched, but did nothing to shake Supernova’s hand off. A few more minutes passed in semi-uncomfortable silence, only interrupted by Rin’s occasional sniffs.

Another crash came from outside.

Rin yelped and pulled away. He would have fallen off the bed if Supernova hadn’t pulled him back at the last second.

Supernova stared down at the shivering robot in his arms, feeling officially lost. Rin seemed so small like this. In more than one way.

_J would be able to handle this_ , Supernova thought suddenly.

He felt miserable.

As if some higher power had heard his thoughts and wished to twist the knife a little further, Rin suddenly started to speak between garbled, choked sobs.

“I...I want dad.”

Supernova sighed.

“I’m afraid that is not possible at the moment.”

Rin only sniffled in response.

Supernova watched him for a few minutes, then took off his headphones and placed them on Rin. Rin looked up at him, startled.

“It… it appeared to me that the noise was the source of the problem,” Supernova said, averting his gaze. “Those headphones are near soundproof. So… you get the picture.”

Rin chuckled. “Our audio sensors are about ten times more sensitive than human ears. But, uh,” he pushed himself up and gave Supernova a genuine, if shaky, smile. “Thanks anyway.”

The moment was interrupted by another clash. Rin jumped slightly, but he didn’t seem as horrified any more.

Supernova wrecked his brain for something else that might help. Eventually, he settled on merely talking. It would serve as a distraction at least.

“So,” he started awkwardly, rearranging himself to a more comfortable position. “Is there a reason why you dislike storms so much?”

Rin hesitated for a second. “Um yeah, kinda.”

“Would you like to tell me about it?”

Rin didn’t respond. Supernova was about to reassure him that he didn’t have to answer the question, but then he sighed and nodded.

“Yeah. Why not?” Rin slightly adjusted the headphones, seemingly forgetting about his higher-functioning audials for the moment. “Sometime after we debuted, we had this one special concert. The forecast said only mild rain, so we thought it wouldn’t be a problem. But then that “mild rain” became a full-blown storm in the middle of our performance. J wanted us to abort, but the fans loved it and the qwaza was filling up like crazy, so me and the others stayed. And then-”

Rin cut himself off, pressing his lip-plates together. He wrapped his arms around his legs tightly.

“And then?” Supernova prompted gently.

“… To be honest, I don’t really remember,” Rin said quietly. “Not all of it, anyway. Just that I was kinda… gone? Everything hurt and my limbs were spazzing out. I think I accidentally fired a laser at Purl-hew but I’m not sure. And the next thing I knew, I woke up in dad’s workshop.” Rin gave a small smile. “Dad-J almost cried when he saw me wake up.”

“Sounds like a rather unpleasant experience,” Supernova remarked.

Rin nodded. “It was. J told me that for some reason the lightning rods weren’t extended during the performance. I got hit pretty bad.” He shuddered. “My… my CPU was fried. If J didn’t have back-ups ready I… I probably would’ve…”

“I understand,” Supernova said quickly. “You do not have to say it.”

Rin gave him a grateful smile.

“So… did your brothers have a similar experience?” Supernova asked, trying to escape the sudden silence. “You are linked, as I recall.”

Rin shook his head. “No, thankfully not. Our connection wasn’t as strong when we were younger. So the most they felt was me going off the radar for some time.”

“Do they know how much it has affected you?”

“Also no.” Rin lowered his head, picking at the blanket. “Dad-j does, though. He says it’s called post traumatic stress syndrome. He has it too. That’s why we don’t have any pyrotechniques in our concerts.”

“Ah.” J _was_ a war veteran. It was only logical, all things considered. “So he usually helps you to deal with it.”

“Yeah. Usually.”

There it was again, that silence. Supernova realized there was nothing else he could ask. And every topic he could think off was more likely to lose him Rin’s attention than divert it. The storm was still going outside.

“Would you… like to listen to my newest piece?” Supernova asked eventually, scratching his neck in embarrassment. It sounded conceited even to his non-existent ears, but it was all he could think of.

Rin turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “You never let us listen to your songs before they’re finished.”

Supernova coughed. “Well, since this is somewhat of a special occasion, I suppose there would be no harm in… getting a second opinion before I release it.”

Rin looked at him fro a while, then shrugged. “Sure. Hit me.”

Supernova puled out his mp4 and selected a track, increasing the volume. The song in question was a relaxing, smooth lo-fi number he’d created one night when creation had struck him. In truth, he’d never planned on publishing it, as it wasn’t quite in keeping with the rest of his album. It was just as well to use it here.

Rin leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes, listening. After a while he started humming along, seemingly having forgotten all about his fear. Supernova couldn’t help but think that Rin made for a very peaceful sight like this. It was so unlike his usual party-crazed antics. Ten again, Rin had always been a bit more down to earth than his brothers. It came with being the oldest, Supernova supposed.

Seeing Rim so at peace with himself and relaxed made Supernova feel something warm in his chest. He wasn’t quite sure if he’d go so far as to call it ‘fatherly love’ but ‘affection’ seemed fine, for the moment.

He leaned down on the headboard next to him and hummed, tipping his feet to the rhythm.

* * *

J burst into the mansion at ten in the morning, radar going a mile a minute and his uniform hanging unusually wrinkled, as if he’d put it on in a hurry.

Haym, Purl-Hew, Eloni and Zimelu jerked awake when he tore open the door to the living room.

At seeing them all assembled on the couch, a bit of the tension left J’s body and his radar slowed down. He quickly cleared his throat and straightened his back.

“Troops, Captain on deck!”

The boys fumbled to get up and in line in front of him to salute. J noticed Eloni raise the wrong arm, but chose to let it slide.

“I assume last night went by without any incidents?” J asked.

“Yes, Captain!” they replied in unison.

“Wonderful! At ease!” J stopped and looked around. “Where’s your squad leader?”

“Rin’s still in his room,” Haym answered, yawning and stretching.

“Supernova?”

Purl-hew adjusted his sunglasses and bend down to pick an empty battery off the sofa. “He was working on a new song last night. Hasn’t woken up yet.”

J nodded. “I’ll go check on your brother.” He raised his foot to nudge an empty oil can lying on the rug. “And when I come back, I expect to see my reflection in those tiles, understood?”

The boys grinned and saluted. They knew he wasn’t entirely serious. But they also knew he did like the mansion clean. He could hear them go to work as soon as his back was turned.  
  
J marched through the halls, pace getting quicker as he did so. He hadn’t expected last night’s storm to be quite as bad. Hopefully Rin had managed without him somehow. J internally prepared himself for a lot of very tight hugs and fatherly reassuring.

He knocked lightly on Rin’s door and pressed it open.

Rin was lying on his bed, eyes closed and leaning on Supernova beside him, whose helmet had gone almost black. Signaling that he was asleep as well.

J stood in the doorway for a few seconds, then gave a light chuckle and shook his head. He quietly retreated from the room, only stopping midway to make a quick snapshot with his screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Hurt/Comfort fluff.
> 
> This one is self-indulgent as all hell, but if you think I'll apologize for that you are sorely mistaken.


End file.
